COVID-19 cases in Maryland continue to skyrocket and as of Monday, 2,746 people are hospitalized with the virus. Not only is it overwhelming hospitals, but it's impacting fire and EMS operations. "We've noticed an increase call volume in EMS, primarily patients who believe they are experiencing symptoms of COVID," said Shannon Stallings, chief of the Bowleys Quarters Volunteer Fire Department.
- PUB DATE: 1/4/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WMAR-TV ABC 2 Baltimore

For John Alley and Luke Barron, being firefighters and varsity wrestling coaches isn’t simply a matter of balancing two jobs. It’s more like a double-dip in intertwined vocations. Alley is an engineer for the Westminster Fire Department, while Barron is a firefighter for the Denver Fire Department. They’ve coached at Columbine High School together for six years, the past two as co-head coaches.
- PUB DATE: 1/4/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Denver Post - Metered Site

In celebration of its 150th anniversary, The Firemen’s Association of the State of New York is giving itself a new name. As of this month, the group will be known as The Firefighters’ Association of the State of New York (FASNY). The organization’s board voted unanimously to change its name at a December meeting.
- PUB DATE: 1/4/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Times Union

Ever since the pandemic began, public health experts have warned about the possibility of getting COVID-19 and the flu at once. With flu cases jumping up across the country after a very mild season last year, doctors are warning that so-called “flurona” can happen—and Israel just had its first documented case, which may be the first in the world.
- PUB DATE: 1/4/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Prevention

Fire crews responded to a reported fire at the Didion ethanol plant in Cambria Monday night. A Columbia County dispatcher confirmed crews were battling a fire at a facility along Cabbage Road. Firefighters were called to the scene just before 8:40 p.m. On Tuesday, Cambria Fire Department officials said no injuries were reported as a result of the fire.
- PUB DATE: 1/3/2022 7:38:28 PM - SOURCE: WISC-TV CBS 3 Madison

When the clock struck 12:01 a.m. Saturday, three fire departments with a combined history of 420 years officially merged as one. The Clyman Fire Department has been in operation since 1909. While Reeseville Fire Department began in 1892, Lowell Fire Department traces its roots back to 1845. Over the last five years, Clyman, Lowell and Reeseville fire departments have already been responding, effectively as one department to calls because of the lack of members during the daytime hours.
- PUB DATE: 1/3/2022 4:11:56 AM - SOURCE: Watertown Daily Times

PHOTOS/VIDEO: A 4-alarm fire at a commercial building in Hillsboro has shut down a city block for the rest of the day as crews work to put out hotspots after an hours-long battle against the flames. Hillsboro Fire and Rescue first reported the fire at SE Main Street and 3rd Avenue just before 3:30 a.
- PUB DATE: 1/3/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KATU-TV ABC 2 Portland

A child in East Haven was severely burned while attempting a social media challenge that calls for igniting a bottle of alcohol, fire officials said Wednesday. The victim was being treated at the Bridgeport Hospital Burn Center, Fire Chief Matt Marcarelli said. Firefighters responded Tuesday at about 8:30 p.
- PUB DATE: 1/3/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Hartford Courant - Metered Site

“I've always been one of those guys who liked helping out other people,” said Jacksonville resident Michael Griffitts. Captain Griffitts is the Crew 3 shift commander, EMS coordinator and fire safety and prevention officer for the Jacksonville Fire Department. His 24-year career has allowed Griffitts to pursue his passion for helping other people while making the community a safer place.
- PUB DATE: 1/3/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: My Journal Courier

VIDEO: One small town in Massachusetts is coming to the aid of another in Kentucky after its fire department was devastated by a recent tornado. The tornado that ripped through Kentucky on the night of Dec. 10 was on the ground for 235 miles, obliterating everything in its path. It hit the rural town of Cayce hard, tearing apart its all-volunteer fire department.
- PUB DATE: 1/3/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WCVB-TV ABC 5 Boston

PHOTOS: More than six years after then-Cumberland Fire Department Chief Donnie Dunn sounded the alarm for the need for a new ladder truck, city firefighters now have a 2021 Sutphen model to help in their firefighting mission. “It’s been a lengthy process,” interim Chief W. Shannon Adams, Dunn’s successor, said Thursday, a few days after the new purchase arrived at CFD headquarters.
- PUB DATE: 1/3/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Cumberland Times-News

Two people and a cat are without a home after house fire in the Town of Brooklyn Saturday afternoon. According to the Belleville Fire Department, crews were called to N7512 County Road X for a residential structure fire. Crews found a two story single family home with heavy fire visible from three sides of the building.
- PUB DATE: 1/1/2022 7:37:09 PM - SOURCE: WISC-TV CBS 3 Madison

A flag hung at half staff Saturday at the Marshall Volunteer Fire Department, as crews mourned the loss of one of their own. Captain Marcos Dominguez died Thursday after losing control of his car, according to family. They said the car slid on ice, and his daughter, who was riding with him, suffered minor injuries.
- PUB DATE: 1/1/2022 5:36:50 PM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

An explosion in a garage in the Wisconsin township of Lessor killed two people on Friday and hospitalized two more, the Shawano County Sheriff's Office reported. The sheriff's office said that a pressurized container had been punctured, which caused the explosion in the town northwest of Green Bay. Multiple law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical agencies responded to the scene, including the Wisconsin State Patrol and emergency helicopter services.
- PUB DATE: 1/1/2022 3:16:40 PM - SOURCE: WITI-TV FOX 6 Milwaukee

The firefighting community is mourning the loss of one of its own. 33-year-old Matt Siddons was a firefighter with Cadott Area Fire and Rescue for eight years. Authorities say he passed away Wednesday after a long hospital stay due to contracting COVID-19. A benefit is scheduled to take place in April to support the family.
- PUB DATE: 1/1/2022 12:47:08 PM - SOURCE: WEAU-TV NBC/CW 31 Eau Claire

A car fire caused an estimated $21,000 in damage to a west-side home earlier this week, local fire officials said. Firefighters with the Madison Fire Department responded to the 2300 block of Quartz Lane just before 5 p.m. Wednesday after a resident saw smoke and reported hearing a loud popping sound from the garage.
- PUB DATE: 12/31/2021 3:46:38 PM - SOURCE: WISC-TV CBS 3 Madison

PHOTOS: A vacant house has been destroyed in a fire on the south side of Syracuse early Wednesday morning. Emergency crews were dispatched at 3:00 a.m. to the house on Glenwood Avenue near Craddock Street. When firefighters arrived, the fire was already fully involved and it was too dangerous for firefighters to enter the house, according to the Syracuse Fire Department.
- PUB DATE: 12/22/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CNY Central

When Mat Post asked himself, “What can we do as a community to help the tornado victims?” his fellow volunteer firefighters answered the call with enough donations of turn out gear, hoses and serviceable fire equipment to fill three trailers. Along with the apparatus, the Clinton Township Volunteer Fire Company decided to donate an entire fire truck, Engine 12.
- PUB DATE: 12/22/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Sun Gazette

Atlanta firefighters had to perform a vertical rescue after a grate gave way and let a man fall down an air shaft, officials said. It happened around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at One Coca-Cola Plaza. Atlanta fire Rescue said the person had fallen about 15 to 20 feet into the air shaft from above. Firefighters determined the best way to rescue the man was to pull him up back through the now open-air vent.
- PUB DATE: 12/22/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WAGA-TV FOX 5 Atlanta

KSHB 41 News first obtained a report that details what happened when a Kansas City, Kansas firefighter was injured in an accident on Dec. 12. The Kansas City, Kansas Police Department provided the report. The fire department is still finishing up its own investigation, per a spokesperson. Pumper 17 was heading to a grocery store around 10:45 a.
- PUB DATE: 12/22/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSHB-TV NBC 41 Kansas City